What Caused The Economic Crash In 'The Panic Of 1819: The First Great Depression'?

Shayla Hale learned young that love is the cruelest lie of all. When her father brought home his secret family, her world shattered. When college was supposed to be her fresh start, Grayson Cross destroyed that too...with his charming smile, his devastating lies, and a bet that would break her completely. Seven years later, she's rebuilt her life far from the ruins he left behind. She has her son, her best friend, and walls so high no one can hurt her again. She survived the worst betrayal of her life and built a new world far from the wreckage. A world where she's safe. Where her secrets stay buried. Where the man who destroyed her can never find her. Until the day she accepts a job as a personal assistant to a powerful CEO, and discovers her new boss is the last person she ever wanted to see again. Grayson Cross. Cold. Ruthless. Unforgiving. He doesn't know why she disappeared seven years ago. He doesn't know what he took from her. And he has no idea about the little boy with his eyes waiting at home. Some bets have consequences that last forever. Some lies can never be forgiven. And some men will destroy everything to get back what they lost. He ruined her once. But this time, she might just ruin him back.

Years after a deadly infection-The Lunar Plague-swept across the world, humans either died, turned into monstrous Hollowfangs, or survived with rare, unexplained immunity. Wolves became the dominant species, building packs and fighting to survive in a world of ruins. THE ALPHA Kael, known as The Grave Wolf, is the most powerful Alpha on the East Coast. Ruthless, feared, and respected, he built his pack from the ashes. But beneath the cold exterior is a man haunted by one loss— Nova Reyes, the girl he was fated to, who disappeared on the night the outbreak began. He spent five years searching for her, believing she was dead.

To the world, Elena was a penniless orphan who struck gold by marrying the "Titan of Tech," Julian Vane. For three years, she endured his coldness, his mistress’s taunts, and the label of "trash" housewives. But when Julian tosses the divorce papers at her to marry a socialite, he triggers the end of Elena’s "Poverty Trial." The woman he discarded doesn't exist. In her place stands the sole heiress to the Everett Global Syndicate—a shadow empire that owns the very ground Julian walks on. As Julian watches his world burn, Elena isn't just seeking a divorce; she’s seeking a total liquidation. But as a new, more dangerous King enters the board, Elena realizes her revenge was only the opening move in a much deadlier game.

I was born with a built-in fortune system. Whenever I'm happy, everyone around me makes money. To keep me in a good mood, my billionaire father takes me out on adventures every single day, showering me with limited-edition sneakers, private yacht charters, and one-of-a-kind luxury items. It all comes down to one thing: the Connolly Group's luck is tied directly to my emotional state. As long as I'm laughing hard enough to snort, the stock price climbs and the money pours in. The moment my mood tanks, the losses start. At worst, the whole thing goes bankrupt. Take last month. One of the cleaning staff accidentally tossed out half a macaron I'd left sitting on the counter, and I was mildly annoyed for about a second. The next day, the Connolly Group's West Coast division posted a hundred-million-dollar loss. Dad spent the entire night buying up ten gourmet bakeries and terminating the cleaning company's contract just to smooth things over. After that, nobody in Manhattan's upper-crust social scene dared so much as look at me sideways. That was, until Dad flew out to Los Angeles on business, and Isabella, the long-lost biological daughter who'd just been found, walked into my room. "You've been leeching off this family for years," she said, looking down at me with pure contempt. "Did you actually think draining the Connolly name dry made you the real heiress? I'm the one with Connolly blood. Now that I'm back, it's time for you to crawl out of my house." I didn't react. She picked up the black coffee sitting nearby and poured it straight onto my keyboard. I watched the screen go dark, and something hollow opened up in my chest. "Get on your knees and clean it up." I wiped the coffee off my face. The air had gone cold. The Connolly Group was about to implode, and I found myself wondering whether Dad, thousands of miles away in LA, was already reaching for his heart medication as he watched billions evaporate off the ticker.

After I come back to decades ago, the first thing I do is feed a million-dollar production patent to the pigs. In my previous life, I handed that patent over to the government. My husband turned me in, accusing me of faking the data and scamming a fortune in patent royalties. Overnight, I went from being a celebrated genius researcher to a lying thief that everyone despised. As I prepared to pull out my manuscript to prove my innocence, my husband's childhood sweetheart beat me to it. She waved it in front of everyone and accused me of misconduct and plagiarism. My husband took her side, reprimanding me, "I know you've always been jealous of Juni for being well-educated, but I can't believe you were bold enough to steal her hard work. What are you going to do next? Embezzle state funds?" I couldn't defend myself. No matter what I said, no one chose to believe me. The other researchers assaulted me so badly that I bled out and died. After my death, my husband and his childhood sweetheart took my patent without a second thought. The never-ending stream of patent royalties made them rich and powerful. When I open my eyes again, I'm back on the very day she accuses me of stealing.

As the year ended and payday finally arrived, my salary still hadn't hit my bank account. I headed straight to the finance department to sort it out, but Sarah Thompson dismissed me impatiently. "You picked up those coupons last week, didn't you? The ones for "Spend 2,000, save 1,000". You got ten of them, adding up to $10,000. Your salary is $8,000, and that extra $2,000 is a perk." I stared at her, stunned. No one had said a word about this when the coupons were handed out. Worse, they could only be redeemed at our boss's supermarket, where commodities were ridiculously marked up. Items that cost $19.99 at a regular supermarket went for $49.99 there, more than double the price. It dawned on me that the boss was just shuffling money from one pocket to another, which meant I had been basically working for free. I shoved the coupons back at her. "I don't want these. Just deposit the cash into my bank account." Michael Wright walked over with a frown. "What's all the yelling? We gave you an extra $2,000, and you are not even grateful? You're stirring up trouble for nothing. You'd spend your salary on stuff anyway. We're just making it convenient." My voice rose, shaking with fury. "What you're doing is illegal!" He laughed, cold and scornful. "Then sue me. I manage things here. You think I'd be scared by a minor employee like you?" Right then, my phone buzzed with a text notification: [Lisa Matthews, congratulations on securing the Enforcement Officer position at the tax bureau.]